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Brookston Army Reserve Colonel Devotes Life to Service
Brookston native Col. Michael Ford has devoted his life to service. A U.S. Army Reserve colonel with decades of military and law enforcement experience, Ford has served his country and community in a myriad of ways for more than 35 years.
Ford’s father, his “first hero,” was an active military service member in the 1950s and later retired as an Army reservist, the colonel told the Roxton Progress. Spending his early years around the military helped him make his decision to enlist in the Army Reserve in 1990.
“I, like others, had relatives that served in the Civil War and World War II, so I guess it is in my DNA to serve,” Ford said, adding that he watched old war movies as a kid that left him “mesmerized.”
“John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Jimmy Stewart and many others were my childhood heroes, especially in the old war shows,” he said.
After enlisting, Ford served in the 952nd Engineer Company in Paris. His unit was not activated for service in the Gulf War, and he ultimately went on to spend several years working for the Paris Police Department. Around the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, one of Ford’s coworkers approached him and asked if he was interested in enlisting in the Texas Army National Guard. He re-enlisted in March 2002 with the intention of only serving one year.
“Well, almost 24 years later, here I am,” Ford said. Through nearly one-quarter century of service, Ford has been deployed overseas twice, received multiple promotions and been activated for several missions. Approximately one year after his reenlistment, he applied for and was accepted into Officer Candidate School. After completing the school, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on Sept. 11, 2004, and was sent to the 736th Component Repair Company in New Boston for his first assignment as a platoon leader. He went on to serve as an Army Military Police Investigator for the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana from 2006-2007 as a first lieutenant and was activated for a hurricane mission in 2008 and later became the company commander for the HHC of the 36th Sustainment Brigade before a promotion to captain and a deployment to Iraq from 2009-2010.
“These assignments were met with a lot of challenges and at times dangerous, especially with the Iraq deployment,” Ford said.
After returning from Iraq, Ford held various staff assignments. A “memorable activation” he recalled was when he helped with recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The powerful Category 4 hurricane made landfall near Rockport, Texas, on Aug. 25, 2017, and was directly responsible for the deaths of nearly 90 people and caused nearly $160 billion in damages, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported.
“I was sent to the southeast part of the state to join the 636th Brigade Support Battalion to provide logistical support to a defined support area and served as a support operations officer with the rank of Major,” Ford said.
In 2019, Ford received another promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. He took command of 850-900 soldiers in the 372nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. He said the assignment was “challenging” as it was during the coronavirus pandemic and required his unit to serve missions going on at different sites around the state, in Washington, D.C., at the inauguration of former President Joe Biden, and winter storms in 2021.
From 2023-2024, Ford was deployed overseas a second time, serving in the southeastern European country of Kosovo as the United States National Sup- port Element Battalion Commander for the Balkans.
“This was a unique and challenging assignment, and I had the opportunity to meet a lot of service members from other countries while completing this assignment,” Ford said, adding that he met military personnel and civilians from more than 20 countries. At the beginning of 2025, Ford transferred to his current assignment with the Army Reserve and received his most recent promotion to Colonel. Reflecting on his decades of military service, Ford said he has “been blessed to serve with a lot of great men and women in uniform from and all over Texas and several foreign countries.” He added that he’s “proud of the fact I gave my best at everything I was asked to do in my service to my country.”
In addition to his lengthy military career, Ford has spent many years in law enforcement. He said he watched cop shows like “Adam 12” growing up and thought that was a career he’d want to do.
“I kind of got in the profession by chance really, but it suited my personality with the structure and adrenaline rush,” Ford said. “A good friend talked me into taking the Paris Police Department civil service test, and the rest is history I guess.”
He said his career in law enforcement “has been a blessing” for more than 25 years and has given him the opportunity to meet “some fine people along the way.”
“I hope to keep giving back just a little to this wonderful community, state and nation that I have been so fortunate to call home for all of my life,” Ford said.
Faith and family are incredibly important to Ford. A member of Calvary Chapel Church in Paris, Ford said that he believes that “the Lord Jesus Christ is 100 percent responsible for my successes, and I’m thankful for my relationship with Him.” He recognized his family, especially his wife Mistie, for their “unwavering support” in the “midst of all of the time away from home.” He said Mistie “held a lot of things together.” “She has been so supportive of me and my career pursuits,” Ford said.
Ford, in his own words, is getting “closer to the finish line” in his Army Reserve career. He has approximately two years left before he retires from the military. He’s preparing for the next chapter and is seeking election for the position of county commissioner for Precinct 2. He said he also plans to spend more time volunteering and giving back to the community.
“I will always be looking for ways to share my experiences with people and look for ways to serve,” Ford said.
Ford’s father, his “first hero,” was an active military service member in the 1950s and later retired as an Army reservist, the colonel told the Roxton Progress. Spending his early years around the military helped him make his decision to enlist in the Army Reserve in 1990.
“I, like others, had relatives that served in the Civil War and World War II, so I guess it is in my DNA to serve,” Ford said, adding that he watched old war movies as a kid that left him “mesmerized.”
“John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Jimmy Stewart and many others were my childhood heroes, especially in the old war shows,” he said.
After enlisting, Ford served in the 952nd Engineer Company in Paris. His unit was not activated for service in the Gulf War, and he ultimately went on to spend several years working for the Paris Police Department. Around the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, one of Ford’s coworkers approached him and asked if he was interested in enlisting in the Texas Army National Guard. He re-enlisted in March 2002 with the intention of only serving one year.
“Well, almost 24 years later, here I am,” Ford said. Through nearly one-quarter century of service, Ford has been deployed overseas twice, received multiple promotions and been activated for several missions. Approximately one year after his reenlistment, he applied for and was accepted into Officer Candidate School. After completing the school, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on Sept. 11, 2004, and was sent to the 736th Component Repair Company in New Boston for his first assignment as a platoon leader. He went on to serve as an Army Military Police Investigator for the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana from 2006-2007 as a first lieutenant and was activated for a hurricane mission in 2008 and later became the company commander for the HHC of the 36th Sustainment Brigade before a promotion to captain and a deployment to Iraq from 2009-2010.
“These assignments were met with a lot of challenges and at times dangerous, especially with the Iraq deployment,” Ford said.
After returning from Iraq, Ford held various staff assignments. A “memorable activation” he recalled was when he helped with recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The powerful Category 4 hurricane made landfall near Rockport, Texas, on Aug. 25, 2017, and was directly responsible for the deaths of nearly 90 people and caused nearly $160 billion in damages, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported.
“I was sent to the southeast part of the state to join the 636th Brigade Support Battalion to provide logistical support to a defined support area and served as a support operations officer with the rank of Major,” Ford said.
In 2019, Ford received another promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. He took command of 850-900 soldiers in the 372nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. He said the assignment was “challenging” as it was during the coronavirus pandemic and required his unit to serve missions going on at different sites around the state, in Washington, D.C., at the inauguration of former President Joe Biden, and winter storms in 2021.
From 2023-2024, Ford was deployed overseas a second time, serving in the southeastern European country of Kosovo as the United States National Sup- port Element Battalion Commander for the Balkans.
“This was a unique and challenging assignment, and I had the opportunity to meet a lot of service members from other countries while completing this assignment,” Ford said, adding that he met military personnel and civilians from more than 20 countries. At the beginning of 2025, Ford transferred to his current assignment with the Army Reserve and received his most recent promotion to Colonel. Reflecting on his decades of military service, Ford said he has “been blessed to serve with a lot of great men and women in uniform from and all over Texas and several foreign countries.” He added that he’s “proud of the fact I gave my best at everything I was asked to do in my service to my country.”
In addition to his lengthy military career, Ford has spent many years in law enforcement. He said he watched cop shows like “Adam 12” growing up and thought that was a career he’d want to do.
“I kind of got in the profession by chance really, but it suited my personality with the structure and adrenaline rush,” Ford said. “A good friend talked me into taking the Paris Police Department civil service test, and the rest is history I guess.”
He said his career in law enforcement “has been a blessing” for more than 25 years and has given him the opportunity to meet “some fine people along the way.”
“I hope to keep giving back just a little to this wonderful community, state and nation that I have been so fortunate to call home for all of my life,” Ford said.
Faith and family are incredibly important to Ford. A member of Calvary Chapel Church in Paris, Ford said that he believes that “the Lord Jesus Christ is 100 percent responsible for my successes, and I’m thankful for my relationship with Him.” He recognized his family, especially his wife Mistie, for their “unwavering support” in the “midst of all of the time away from home.” He said Mistie “held a lot of things together.” “She has been so supportive of me and my career pursuits,” Ford said.
Ford, in his own words, is getting “closer to the finish line” in his Army Reserve career. He has approximately two years left before he retires from the military. He’s preparing for the next chapter and is seeking election for the position of county commissioner for Precinct 2. He said he also plans to spend more time volunteering and giving back to the community.
“I will always be looking for ways to share my experiences with people and look for ways to serve,” Ford said.